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Eric Stanze's previous films seemed to always hinge on a supernatural
element such as demons, spirits, alternate dimensions, and the like.
While those movies were often very good horror films, there was a
distancing effect for the audience.
That is not the case with the latest offering from the folks over at
Wicked Pixel Cinema. SCRAPBOOK puts the fantasy element on the
backburner to tell the stone cold sober tale of a boyish serial killer
and his resilient captive. The resulting movie is like a 44-slug straight
through the brain.
Tommy Biondo (who also wrote the screen story) plays Leonard, a serial
killer who holds his prey captive so they can immortalize their terrors
in his scrapbook. Inside the book is story after story of torture,
rape, and death. Each one a story of his vile past.
Clara (Emily Haack) is Leonard's latest captive. We know nothing about
her, and very little about him. What we do learn is through the time
spent with them. This is essentially a two-character drama, but
director Stanze never lets the reigns go slack. The terror continues to
mount with each scene as Clara attempts various escapes and is
revoltingly punished for them. Eventually she learns the only way to
fight him is to face him head on through the entries in his scrapbook.
This is, without a doubt, one of the most disturbing and forthright
movies in years. Stanze rolls the icy cold morality of HENRY PORTRAIT
OF A SERIAL KILLER with the graphic sexual violence of I SPIT ON YOUR
GRAVE and the hysteria of IN THE REALM OF THE SENSES, then bakes all the
ingredients in the intensity of THE TEXAS CHAINSAW MASSACRE.
This is one very nasty and unrelenting movie. The abuse of Clara is
nearly constant, culminating in several brutal rapes that are more
disturbing than the last. Equally as unrelenting is the psychological
terror she faces at the hands of the villain. Clara spends almost the
entirety of the movie in her underwear or completely nude, covered in
shit, piss, milk, and dirt. Like I said, this isn't pretty.
A movie like this is only as good as the performances. Luckily, Stanze
chose fine performers in Biondo (sadly, now passed away) and Haack.
Both performances are among the bravest this or any other genre has
offered. Biondo spent five years researching and assembling the
character and screenplay in order to make his portrayal realistic. The
research paid off. He is a creepy and all-too-believable killer with an
over-developed sense of grandeur. Clara is always personable and
fighting. You never lose track of the character that is suffering.
Both actors end up engaging in acts of sex and violence that are miles
more extreme than the norm, and both never falter when it comes time to
perform these heinous acts. They never flinch. Neither does director
Eric Stanze. This is no RESERVOIR DOGS ear-cutting scene where the
camera wanders away disgusted. Stanze's camera holds steady on the
violence, never letting you, the viewer, get away from the uncomfortable
nature of the proceedings. Every despicable act of Leonard is shown
without hesitation, forcing the audience to suffer along with Clara.
Many viewers won't be able too. Many will have shut this bad boy off
right after the initial rape scene, feeling guilty and violated
themselves. Stanze obviously has taken great pains to construct a movie
that treats the subject matter as realistically as it deserves. The
movie falters slightly in the final act. I do not want to give it away,
except to say that the final confrontation seems slightly staged, and
lets Leonard off too easy. Otherwise this is a spitfire, hellhole of a
movie that will haunt you for weeks afterward. Put it on the shelf next
to IN A GLASS CAGE, LAST HOUSE ON THE LEFT, and HENRY PORTRAIT OF A
SERIAL KILLER.
OBVIOUSLY highly recommended, but only to those who think they can
handle it. You know who you are.
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